Beingย grateful in the moment for the things we have in that moment is kind of a big deal

By Sarah Hansing

rain

Ahhhh!!!

You guys! ย You guys! ย YOU GUYS!!!!

IT RAINED!!!

Ok, I know I canโ€™t be the only one that got unreasonably excited when I woke up in the middle of the night this past Sunday to the melodic thrum of rain on my window. I thought maybe it was a dream …

But Monday morning it was STILL RAINING! ย 

I havenโ€™t been that excited about rain since I lived in Southern California, truth be told. ย It was all I could do to not run outside and twirl around in those sweet drops of angelโ€™s tears falling from the sky. ย ย โ€ฆ or at least to not do it for more than 3 โ€ฆ maybe 4 minutes tops.

It did strike me as kind of funny in a way, that I was so incredibly stoked to see what (prior to the horrible drought conditions) I had considered to be a bummer. A plan killer. A ride ruiner. A gloomy way to start a day. ย 

Funny isnโ€™t it? The whole โ€œyou donโ€™t know what youโ€™ve got til itโ€™s goneโ€ adage proves that those overused sayings are overused for a reason.

Itโ€™s something to keep in mind. Something to remind ourselves about. ย 

Beingย grateful in the moment for the things we have in that moment is kind of a big deal. ย 

Over the past week, Iโ€™ve had loads of conversations with the people Iโ€™ve been riding with. We chatted and pedaled and laughed and shared stories. Do you know what most of those stories centered around for ALL of us?

Nostalgia. ย 

Stories about regular group rides that were done with people long ago, on trails that donโ€™t exist anymore, on bikes long since sold, stolen, or turned from race-rockets into townie bikes.

Anecdotes about crashing on gnarly trails that were seen as mortal enemies … but are sort of missed now, ย because of that time we FINALLY cleared it and then moved on to bigger and better things.

Itโ€™s all a good reminder to stay as much in the moment as we possibly can. Because โ€œnowโ€ turns into โ€œthenโ€ WAY faster than we ever really think about. ย 

So get your slice of hero dirt while you can. Remember where youโ€™ve been, be excited about where youโ€™re goingย … but most importantly, beย STOKEDย on where you are. Enjoy the ride.


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โ€‹Fat Tire Tuesday columnist Sarah Hansingย has been slinging wrenches as a pro bike mechanic for 15 years (with the exception of a one year stint working for Trek Bicycles in Wisconsin.)ย Epicenter Cycling scooped her up as their lead mechanic and the shop’s crewย plans to โ€‹keep her forever. Sarah loves riding singletโ€‹rack, wrenchingย on bikes, and hanging out with her jerk-face but adorable cat Harlan. (Who is a jerk.)